back from the Big Apple

we're home. the puppies are snoozing in the sun, libby's cuddled up on the couch. Beloved is romping through Pimpworld, and the yankees play at 7.

it's been a great weekend so far, even though it had it's moments.

once again, i was disappointed by the Dream Hotel. other than the erotic murals on the walls, there's absolutely nothing to recommend the place as far as i can tell. the rooms are bare to the point of spartan, and the blue and white decor only makes them feel angular and cold. the furniture is black and silver, and all right angles - there's not a curve in ANYTHING - except the drape of the comforter over the bed. so that's not really a curve in my opinion - it's a softened right angle which just isn't the same. if this is really deepak chopra's idea of what a relaxing hotel room should be like, i have to seriously question if he really does understand as much as he obviously thinks he does.

the fact that the shower head had a coating of slime and there was a noticeable layer of dust under the console only heightened my determination that we not return. Beloved says he likes the place, but i think this is a case of him being led astray by the little brain below his belt. i think what he really likes are the erotic murals - but they're all in the public areas. the rooms - which is what i think matters in a hotel - totally do not live up to anything promised.

on the other hand, we found a taxi just as we walked around the corner and we found seats at the bar at carmine's, that came complete with a bartender who kept us well supplied with just the right amount of food and drink before the play.

Beloved deserves a Best Long-Suffering Husband Award for the determination with which he threw himself into his attempt to enjoy hamlet. he seriously studied - reading all kinds of reviews and synopses to give himself a head's-up. unfortunately, where i found the lines like old friends, Beloved finds them as clear as old crud. so he tried - i could see he tried, and he only nodded out a couple times before intermission. things get livelier in the second half - ophelia goes crazy, hamlet rolls around with his mother on her bed, people start to die.

was there any part you liked at all, i asked wistfully as we strode through the crowd like fortinbras through denmark.

oh i loved the ending, said Beloved. it reminded me of your books.

and furthermore, the war will end. blessed be.